About Us

We are an independent charity funded by donations.

We search for missing people on behalf of the friends and family left behind and provide specialised support to ease their heartache and confusion. Our free, confidential helpline is available 24 hours a day by phone, text and email to support missing children and adults, and their loved ones.

On these pages you can find out where it all began, who is involved and where the charity Missing People is going in the future.

Give time

Use the Search Directory to find out who is missing in your area or volunteer for Missing People.

Give socially

Join the Search by following us on Facebook or Twitter. The more people who share our missing people appeals with friends online, the more chance we have of finding them.

Give anything

Let us know how you are supporting Missing People! Call us on 0800 MISSING (647 7464) or email supporters@missingpeople.org.uk and tell us how you can help.

Missing People is an independent charity, funded by donations. We will try to get back to you as quickly as possible, even if we are unable to help. Our small team is incredibly busy at the moment. We appreciate your patience while we get back to you.

If you would like to receive all our press releases when we issue them, please send your details through to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we'll add you to our distribution list.

Please read the information below before contacting us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 020 8392 4511. Please consider emailing in the first instance as we require all requests to be sent via email before we can respond to them.

For urgent enquiries, call 07872 600 178 out-of-hours. Non-urgent enquiries to the out-of-hours phone will be dealt with in office hours.

Contacting families of missing people

If you would like to speak to a family member of someone who is missing, please get in touch with their local police force press office in the first instance. If the police force is unable to help, we may be able to however the more notice we have the more likely it is that we'll be able to help.

Images of missing people

If you would like to use a photo of a missing person that currently appears on our website, please contact us on the details above with the name and reference number of the missing person, as well as a brief description of the article it will accompany.

We politely request that you feature the contact details we will provide to you, alongside images.

Spokesperson/expert commentary and interview requests

To request an interview with a spokesperson from Missing People, please send a summary of your request to the details above. Missing People has an ISDN line available for interviews.

While Missing People spokespeople cannot comment on the specifics of any case due to the confidential nature of the charity’s work, we can provide an insight into the experience of those who go missing and the impact on families left behind, as well as the work the charity does to help. Please note that our pool of spokespeople is relatively small and in very regular demand for interviews so the more notice you are able to give us, the more likely that we'll be able to secure a spokesperson for your request.

Generic images and case studies

Missing People has a range of copyrighted images, posed by models that visually represent the issue. We also have anonymised case studies which represent the wide variety of young runaways, missing adults and families left behind who we support every day, that we are happy to share with appropriate attribution.

Information relating to a specific case

If you’d like to know more about a specific case, please type the person’s name into the search box on our Help Us Find page. All the information that we are at liberty to publicise will be found in the online appeal. If you require an update about the investigation, we would recommend you contact the police force responsible.

Documentaries

If you are looking for help with researching a documentary we may be able to put you in touch with one of a number of experts on the issue. Our Policy and Research team may be able to assist you with statistics and wider research, while our Services team could you give you a broader introduction to the charity and an insight into the families and vulnerable missing adults and children we support.

As ours is a small national charity and we field many media requests and requests from TV development teams, our policy is to ask for a donation of £100 for an hour of our staff’s time. Otherwise, we can arrange a 10-15 minute call between you and one of our staff for a briefer education on the subject. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a brief description of your idea, and the kind of meeting you would like to set up.

Artists

If you have an idea that would help to support the charity, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a brief description of the project and how you believe it would benefit Missing People.

Students

We will do our best to respond to requests coming from school or university students however this is not always possible. Unfortunately we can't help students with interview requests with spokespeople or families. Where we are unable to help with a request due to resources we will do our best to direct you to relevant information or content online.